[Q] First time rom user = now i have a brick - Vibrant Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hi XDA, firstly wow...great site, lots and lots and lots of info, seems like a great community.
My phone: SGH-T959 (Samsung S Vibrant)
My issue: After flashing Axura 2.2.7 my phone doesn't turn on...at all...ever!
History: I'll say up front that I'm a long time android user with a technical background (Windows, Cisco networking, light Linux, etc) but first time rom flash experience. I bought a used SGH-T959 off Ebay, came stock with android 2.1 stock, I used Samsung Kies (straight off the official site) to upgrade to android 2.2. Well the phone slowed down, a lot. I felt ready to try my hand at flashing a Rom.
I first did a lot of reading, got Odin and my 2.1 and 2.2 stock files, flashed to 2.2 just to get a little comfortable. Worked fine. I charged my battery to full and then started the process of rooting my phone, again worked fine. I then updated to E2 boot loader (if I remember correctly) so I could work in recovery mode. I rebooted for good measure after going to E2 and all was still well.
**Issues incoming***
Using Clockwork I rebooted into recovery, flashed Axura 2.2.7 and the phone froze. Almost in a panic I pulled the battery and the phone was fine, still in stock 2.2. I booted to recovery again via Clockwork and attempted to flash Axura again, completed this time so I rebooted. That's the last time my phone did anything but look like a shiny rock. Will not power on.
Things I have tried:
* Holding many, many different combos of buttons after reinserting the battery
* Bought a usb Jig off ebay, nothing happened when inserted (tried holding many different combos of buttons while inserting it and while inserting the battery)
* Holding many, many different combos of buttons after connecting the USB cable to my computer with known good USB drivers (from when I used Odin)
* Used a known good battery from another T959 phone (co-worker that has same phone)
* Just for kicks I registered the device with Samsung, had two days left on the one year manufactures warranty so shipped it back to them, they returned saying the phone had experienced water or corrosion damage and the warranty was void.
As to Samsung's response I would like some feedback as to the possibility (it was a used phone after all). Just seems very unlikely that the phone would die just as I flashed it...
I am at a loss, I would love to get some helpful hints, tricks or anything else I could possibly do to get my phone back into download mode. I feel confident that if I could get the phone to that state I could get the process right.
Tell me I didn't waste my money on a now dead phone, give me some hope.

your best option is taking it to repair shop

don't know the point of using kies. Don't think it's a necessary step.
try these instructions: http://rootzwiki.com/topic/605-guid...nja-apps-everything/page__p__11106#entry11106
You can probably start on step 2 since you have nothing to back up. This will bring you back to stock and try flashing again. I use these instructions all the time before i flash a new rom
Good luck and keep us posted

Thanks for the link, however as I said in my OP, I have used Odin before and am comfortable with it, the phone doesn't turn on, aka no download mode)
It seems Jtag repair is my last hope (unless anybody gets creative and surprises me), anybody recommend one?
I searched and found one for $40 - mobiletechvideos.mybigcommerce.com/samsung-vibrant-jtag-brick-repair
Anybody review or offer an alternative?

TRY THIS
1) pull the battery out
2) plug ur usb wire to ur pc and ur phone
3) hold volume up+ wolume down
4) insert the battery in
GOOD LUCK...

try to odin back to stock
1. Start Odin
2. Plug USB cable into pc
3. Power off the Phone.
3. Pull the Battery.
5. Plug USB cable into Phone.
6. Press and Hold: Volume UP + Volume DOWN + Power, all at the same time.
7. Re-insert the battery.
8. The phone will power now, when the screen starts a cycle of going to a BLACK screen, release ONLY the POWER button.
9. When you see the download icon release the volume buttons,
10. Odin back to stock by putting the PIT file into the appropriate area and the .tar in the PDA area.
Or try that same method without holding the power button, just the volume rocker (up and down) when plugging into usb that works for some ppl
The vibrant is tough to hard brick so keep trying

I'm not really aware of the "E2 Bootloader" link maybe.... The only bootloader that I'm aware of is the Gingerbread bootloader. Either way I just posted this maybe it will be of help to you as well.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=19481353#post19481353
Keep in mind to have ODIN up when trying to get into download mode, if the phone screen is dead the only way to know you are in download mode will be the yellow box in ODIN when your device connects.
Good luck!

did you try with the battery IN:
volume UP + HOME key + POWER......?
I don't really see many people mentioning that option for DL mode....

Want to say thanks to everybody for the sugestions.
At this point after trying all the above and many more, I'm still dead in the water, I'm deciding between the $40 unbrickable mod install + flash to stock and the $40 JTag fix repair from mobiletechvideos.com
Anybody have experience with either service?

No, but this could be throwing good money after bad, however scorpn on the tw web site has a 8.00 roughly jtag, on a blackscreened brick it may not work. But it might, probly shouldnt be pimping another website, but thats where it is.

mog44net said:
Want to say thanks to everybody for the sugestions.
At this point after trying all the above and many more, I'm still dead in the water, I'm deciding between the $40 unbrickable mod install + flash to stock and the $40 JTag fix repair from mobiletechvideos.com
Anybody have experience with either service?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The only experience I have is a JIG. Have you seen his youtube channel? He has a lot of good info. He really knows his stuff. I learned how use ODIN and the FFC Mod from his videos. I think he has a video showing how to fix your phone or if you ship to him, he will fix it for you.
Try send a PM to him...his username is "connexion2005"
Let me know what happens or if you were able to fix your phone....

Sugartibbs said:
No, but this could be throwing good money after bad, however scorpn on the tw web site has a 8.00 roughly jtag, on a blackscreened brick it may not work. But it might, probly shouldnt be pimping another website, but thats where it is.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, if it were a straight $40 I would just dump the phone, bite the bullet and purchase another device. However on the site it says if the phone ends up being non repairable there is only a $10 charge to cover return shipping.
If I can install the unbrickable mod for $40, flash it back to stock, ship it back to me then I can drop whatever rom I want on it, all the while being able to use unbrickable mod apps to one click restore it...sounds worth a $10 loss chance to me.

Closfig1 said:
The only experience I have is a JIG. Have you seen his youtube channel? He has a lot of good info. He really knows his stuff. I learned how use ODIN and the FFC Mod from his videos. I think he has a video showing how to fix your phone or if you ship to him, he will fix it for you.
Try send a PM to him...his username is "connexion2005"
Let me know what happens or if you were able to fix your phone....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I actually did buy a USB Jig (OP), still nada on the display and ODIN com check.

Related

[Q] Is my Vibrant dead?

So I plugged my Vibrant into Odin to revert to stock. Apparently everything went wrong, and now my phone is stuck at the Phone---!---computer screen. It seems that my phone won't respond to hardware methods of entering download mode, so am I screwed?
Keep reading on here. This has happened to many people. Keep trying things and hopefully you will get it.
1. Remove SD and SIM card
2. Remove battery
3. plugged the phone into USB (connected to PC)
4. held down vol-up and vol-down
5. popped the battery back in while holding vol buttons
I've tried that, and many other methods, multiple times already. It seems that none of the volume/power methods do anything for my phone. I'm certain that if hardware-locks do exist for certain vibrants, mine just so happens to be one of them (Date on box is August 13). I just want to know if anyone with a similarly dated phone has ever been able to access download mode without adb.
If anyone knows of more methods, please post them. If all else fails, I'll go complain in my local T-Mobile store that my phone died. I have no idea if that'll get me anywhere, but it's worth a shot.
Does anyone who has had a problem similar to mine know of any fix? By that I mean, has someone who has had a presumably hardware-locked phone ever been able to boot it into download mode without adb? I'd really like to know if I can salvage this thing, or if I have to try my luck with T-Mobile.
Try holding volume down and holding power button and plug in USB while this is happening.
Sadly, I've tried that method as well, thank you though for responding. I will continue trying since it seems not to be a 100% thing for some people. Anyway, for the Volume keys + Power method, can anyone provide a more precise time of releasing power than "When it goes black". I'm hoping my inability to enter download mode is human-error, so I'd like as much input on this as possible. Thanks in advance.
Generic112 said:
Sadly, I've tried that method as well, thank you though for responding. I will continue trying since it seems not to be a 100% thing for some people. Anyway, for the Volume keys + Power method, can anyone provide a more precise time of releasing power than "When it goes black". I'm hoping my inability to enter download mode is human-error, so I'd like as much input on this as possible. Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When you see the " !---> (pc)" symbol, plug your USB in. Hold down volume +, volume -, and power. As soon as the screen turns black release the power button only. Continue holding Vol + and Vol -. You'll enter Download mode.
I've tried that multiple times, but I will continue to try it. It seems as though my phone won't register that buttons are being pressed. All that happens is the phone reboots to the Phone--!--Computer screen every time the power is held and released (As it should). No combination of buttons seems to have any affect on this. Oh well, I'll continue trying and hopefully someone will post a working method.
I have the same problem and the hardware button method isn't working and I am stuck at the Phone ! Computer screen, and I read around the forums and they say that some Vibrant's have the hardware method locked, so you can't boot into Download mode from using the buttons. Since adb cannot find the phone when its stuck at this screen it seems we are both screwed. I have found no other solution other than returning it Tmo, not sure if they will exchange since it might be a violation of warranty.
I'm just going to play dumb when I go to T-Mobile. I'll say it just booted into that screen, and I can't get out of it. The hardware lock appears to be a defect, since it's not present on most Vibrants, so that should be able to warrant the replacement phone. I've been with T-Mobile awhile, and they're usually pretty good with replacements. Besides, the phone would be easily fixed if it wasn't broken in the first place.
But before I go to T-Mobile, I'm going to try and talk to Customer Service. If it's a common problem, then I'm sure it can be covered under warranty (Even though MOST ways of getting it require voiding warranty). Again, on the basis that this wouldn't be a big deal if my phone worked like a normal Vibrant. Besides, I'm sure T-Mobile can flash it without requiring the hardware method, so even if they only charge me some sort of service fee, I won't really mind.
As final moral reassurance for myself, I only tried to flash it because apps started FC on me and the phone constantly acted weird. The only thing I've done is root it, so it's not like I really set it up to fail.
Let me know how it goes with Customer Service. I would to get this problem resolved as well with the least amount of trouble. I don't want to have a brick and have to pay like $500 for a new phone. And I think the hardware buttons thing might actually be a defect. I tried doing the hardware buttons thing to get to recovery mode once before and it worked. I did this to install an update.zip to root the phone. It only worked that one time and now the buttons don't boot into recovery mode or download mode. It if works once then not again, there has to be something wrong.
I'll be trying them tomorrow (It's 10PM where I am). If all goes well, I'll try and contact you. I'm pretty sure I'll be safe so long as I don't mention rooting it. The firmware flash they'll have to do should help me on that front, so unless they catch on, I should be safe. Anyway, hopefully tomorrow I'll be good news, otherwise expect some post from me on Monday or Tuesday, depending on whether I have the time to deal with them or not.
Hey Generic112, I got with T-Mobile customer service. I told them about the screen I was seeing but did not mention rooting or attempting to flash the phone. They said they will replace my phone by shipping me a new Vibrant, but I have to return the one I have. I am not sure if they will do a check to verify if the Vibrant was rooted or not after they receive it, but I will have my new Vibrant before they receive the one I have. I won't know what will happen for awhile because its going to take a week for the new phone to arrive and when it does then I will be returning the one with the phone ! computer problem, unless someone thinks it is a better idea to tell them what happened and have them repair it?
I am also struck with the same problem
Hi,
I am also struck with the same problem. Please let me know if you guys got any method to resolve the problem or T-Mobile was able to help.
the3dman said:
Keep reading on here. This has happened to many people. Keep trying things and hopefully you will get it.
1. Remove SD and SIM card
2. Remove battery
3. plugged the phone into USB (connected to PC)
4. held down vol-up and vol-down
5. popped the battery back in while holding vol buttons
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This method actually worked for me. I was beginning to think I'd have to build the USB jig, but tried this as a last ditch. Thanks!
The above method has worked for me numerous times with the same problem, my old bricked one, and my new one. Try holding down power button as well once or twice, never know. You have to keep the volume buttons pressed the whole time for it to work.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
ViralCipher said:
Hey Generic112, I got with T-Mobile customer service. I told them about the screen I was seeing but did not mention rooting or attempting to flash the phone. They said they will replace my phone by shipping me a new Vibrant, but I have to return the one I have. I am not sure if they will do a check to verify if the Vibrant was rooted or not after they receive it, but I will have my new Vibrant before they receive the one I have. I won't know what will happen for awhile because its going to take a week for the new phone to arrive and when it does then I will be returning the one with the phone ! computer problem, unless someone thinks it is a better idea to tell them what happened and have them repair it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In some cases that I've read they say, TMo charged them 600$ for the Replacement after finding out that it was bricked due to hacking. Before replacing try to get it repaired by them.
I would also like people whose phones were replaced to confirm what I've said above.
ech419 said:
In some cases that I've read they say, TMo charged them 600$ for the Replacement after finding out that it was bricked due to hacking. Before replacing try to get it repaired by them.
I would also like people whose phones were replaced to confirm what I've said above.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
He should be able to get the phone woking again, what happened is not a big deal. If he sends it in the way it's sitting right now, t'Mo's techs won't have a problem getting it working again. (IMO) Especially if they find out the phone's rooted, I wouldn't be surprised if he gets charged.
I bricked my phone so bad, it was beyond recovery. I erased the bootloader, therefore it was completelly dead. No life. I got a replacement under warranty for free, never got charged for it.
My advice would be to try and get to work again before sending it in.

Bricked Vivrant after rooting to stock froyo

i flashed stock froyo and my phone will not turn on.
already tried the battery pull,combo buttons (download and recovery)
what happened: i flashed back to stock froyo and all loaded successfully with odin.
as it started to reboot the screen went blank.
any ideas?
HELP!!!!
Usb jig if u cant get into dl mode.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA Premium App
Check what you odin'ed...see if it contained sbl.bin.
and what were you flashing from??
Try flashing stock eclair 2.1. And then upgrade your rom from there.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA Premium App
THANKS for all of your suggestion. i tried all of the above an no luck.
So you've already tried the USB jig to access DL mode like @movieaddict suggested and still can't? Thats odd..... What kinda life are you getting out of the phone? Does it turn on at all? How about plugging the USB into the PC or a charger.... anything? spindles or the battery charging icon?
- If the phone is completely dead as in your getting NO life at all then it is in fact HARD BRICKED. I have heard about a JTAG fix for HARD BRICKED Vibrants and I assume its similar to the XBOX360 deal that most of us have probably done in the past, but I have not personally on the Vibrant. I know there is a youtube video/tutorial. Unfortunately thats pretty much all I know about that. I would suggest a google search or search the Q&A threads here for something like:
"Samsung, Vibrant, hard, bricked, jtag"
Good luck!
I would not recommend trying jtag yourself, as you have to rub away a section of the motherboard to access certain solder points and it requires a very expensive jtagging device. If it is truly bricked you can send it to these guys and they will jtag it and bring it back to life for you.
http://www.mobiletechvideos.com/blog/?page_id=778
Already have you on the right page there. It's the second one on that list.
I agree with the above post. Its probably not something everyone should attempt. Although I think most will realize that when you see all that is involved. Here is the thread that I first heard about it:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=13981538#post13981538
I'm sure if you PM @connexion2005 would be more than willing to help you out as well. Good luck!
smali26 said:
i flashed stock froyo and my phone will not turn on.
already tried the battery pull,combo buttons (download and recovery)
what happened: i flashed back to stock froyo and all loaded successfully with odin.
as it started to reboot the screen went blank.
any ideas?
HELP!!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So your phone isn't responding at all? Try holding power and volume +. You might get a screen with orange text on it. This worked for me.
From there you can get to download mode by plugging the phone in and using the three finger method.
kawika said:
so you've already tried the usb jig to access dl mode like @movieaddict suggested and still can't? Thats odd..... What kinda life are you getting out of the phone? Does it turn on at all? How about plugging the usb into the pc or a charger.... Anything? Spindles or the battery charging icon?
- if the phone is completely dead as in your getting no life at all then it is in fact hard bricked. I have heard about a jtag fix for hard bricked vibrants and i assume its similar to the xbox360 deal that most of us have probably done in the past, but i have not personally on the vibrant. I know there is a youtube video/tutorial. Unfortunately thats pretty much all i know about that. I would suggest a google search or search the q&a threads here for something like:
"samsung, vibrant, hard, bricked, jtag"
good luck!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no life at all. I have tried holding tHe button for 30 sec. Still not result. also tried the battery on another person vibrant and it worked.
smali26 said:
no life at all. I have tried holding tHe button for 30 sec. Still not result. also tried the battery on another person vibrant and it worked.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
may i ask what did you flash and what rom was on your phone before. Knowing what was flashed and where you were coming from may probably help us better to understand what is happening.
try press volume down and up button hold it and plug data cable connected to ur computer. That will let u boot to download mode. Try and let me kw how it went.
Same thing happened to me, I was able to fix by the following post...
1. Start AIO toolbox
2. Power off the Phone.
3. Pull the Battery.
4. Plug USB cable into Phone.
5. Plug USB cable into PC.
6. Press and Hold: Volume UP + Volume DOWN + Power, all at the same time.
7. Re-insert the battery.
8. The phone will power now, when the screen starts a cycle of going to a BLACK screen, release ONLY the POWER button.
The idea is to get ODIN to see your phone again.

May have bricked my phone

So I think I flashed the wrong rom with odin and after it passed, I expected the phone to reboot itself but it just stayed black. After this point, I was unable to turn it on at all. I've tried the steps to bring it back into download mode (remove everything>plug in usb cable>hold both volume buttons>plug in battery). Nothing pops up at all. Did I actually brick it or is there another method into bringing back into download mode?
Pull the battery and let it sit for about 30min then try again. If it still doesn't work, you probably need to invest in a jig
Thanks will report back in a half an hour or so hopefully with good news
In the meantime, does anyone have any other suggestions?
Don't forget that you don't necessarily need to see Download on your phone. If you see the yellow COM box lit up on Odin it is recognized.
While you are waiting check out NOOB_IN_N33D's miui guide for some helpful tips to get into dl mode.
Thanks will try and see if anything pops up in a few minutes
I just plugged the battery back in and still nothing boots up while holding both the volume buttons with the usb cable in. I also opened up odin and it does not detect the phone at all. What else can be done at this rate besides the jig?
Pull the battery out plug in usb hold down the download mode buttons then put battery back in
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
Tried that already
anyone got any other suggestions?
Jig
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
Will a jig even work if it doesn't power on?
What rom did you flash and what kind of phone is it?
T-Mobile Vibrant.
As to what rom, i cna't remember where I got it from but I suspect that I odin'ed a i9000 rom stock rom from canada instead of using a gt-i9000 rom (if that makes any sense)
edit: I am pretty sure I used this:
http://www.darkyrom.com/community/i...-darkyrom-gingerbread-jvh-noob-friendly.3080/
Can someone confirm if this is bricked or not so I can get this off my mind?
When i flashed the rom that I posted above, it passed and after that point, never turned on again. Tried every weird combination of trying to get it into download mod (volume buttons after plugging in the usb, battery off>hold volume buttons>connect usb>put back battery, volume down+home+power) and nothing has worked thus far. Any knowledge on the matter would be great.
Looking like a Possible Hardbrick
I looked at what you flashed, and I'm not completely sure, unless I read more on the code, But you may have hard bricked your phone because you wrote the wrong Boot loaders onto the Chip of your phone! Because the international models use different HW than the US models, and the SW that is written for them is a different set of power on instructions. each phone uses its own code to initiate a power on sequence. thats why there isnt just one code for hundreds of different phones!
I've always loved Darkys ROM's but they always gave me problems or wouldn't work right after 9.3 for me, and his ROM's are really primarily for Overseas/ European models of the Vibrant. and as such is why alot of peeps here in the US, stopped using his ROM's after certain evolutions were developed.
There are two boot loaders that work one after the other, for the T-959.
The primary BL simply powers on the device and then the secondary boot loader initiates the loading of the OS/ROM.
If the wrong primary Boot loader is installed or the proper one is corrupted, you will be in a condition known as " A True hard bricked situation" meaning nothing powers on, no lights, LED's no glimmer of any electrical activity at all!!
If you see any LED's or anything even for a moment of electrical activity, then your phone is soft bricked and can be recovered! But again if the first scenario I described is taking place then you are Hard Bricked!
After you determine for sure your HBricked for sure you have 3 options.
Try to get a warranty swap, but if they do a forensic search on your phone and see a benign ROM loaded, your gonna take a 299$ or 399$ bath cuz they'll know you bonked it using non OE SW.
Option number 2, Josh at Mobile tech: does JTAGing. Link below.
http://mobiletechvideos.mybigcommerce.com/samsung-vibrant-jtag-brick-repair/
JTAGing involves writing the proper boot loaders onto your phones chip, and you are resurrected again.
Third option: try Adams solder-less JTAG method here is the link: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1397393
Just first try any and all combos to see if you can power the phone on at all, if its trully dead= no powering of any kind, then you can proceed to make a decision as to how to proceed, based on the options I outlined for you!
Good luck, and remember, to always check and read first what your flashing before doing so to avoid scenarios like this in the future, an extra moments time and reading can save many $$ and loss of time with the phone, and any hair you may still have above!

Broken power button/stuck in recovery

I dropped my phone a few days ago and the power button stopped working. Reboot ed into recovery from Rom Manager and realized that I couldn't select anything because I need the power button (tried every other button as well; nothing works). Took the battery out and put it back in (the only way to turn it off now) and it instantly booted into recovery. I can't send it to AT&T because I have at least 10 counts and they'll instantly see that CWM is on there.
Please help me!
kancheek1995 said:
I dropped my phone a few days ago and the power button stopped working. Reboot ed into recovery from Rom Manager and realized that I couldn't select anything because I need the power button (tried every other button as well; nothing works). Took the battery out and put it back in (the only way to turn it off now) and it instantly booted into recovery. I can't send it to AT&T because I have at least 10 counts and they'll instantly see that CWM is on there.
Please help me!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You dropped your phone. Samsung/AT&T warranty doesn't cover accidents, so there's no sense in worrying about your flash count. You're SOL. But you are free to try of course. Reverting to stock is very easy. What would you even do in recovery mode to revert to stock? Did you bother to look around the forum? There is a guide in the general forum on how to do that.
Out of curiosity, I did a google search to see what the repair options were for a broken power button. Saw that Mobile Tech Videos does it for $35 + shipping. Might be one of the better options at this point. As for the counter, just buy or make a jig to reset it.
mzaur said:
You dropped your phone. Samsung/AT&T warranty doesn't cover accidents, so there's no sense in worrying about your flash count. You're SOL. But you are free to try of course. Reverting to stock is very easy. What would you even do in recovery mode to revert to stock? Did you bother to look around the forum? There is a guide in the general forum on how to do that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They wouldn't know that I dropped it unless I told them that, so as of right now the button stopped working by itself. I reverted to stock a while ago when I thought I bricked it, but I need to get it into download mode which can't be done without the power button.
kancheek1995 said:
They wouldn't know that I dropped it unless I told them that, so as of right now the button stopped working by itself. I reverted to stock a while ago when I thought I bricked it, but I need to get it into download mode which can't be done without the power button.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Recovery mode requires the power button. Download mode only requires the two volume buttons. With the phone off, while holding down vol- & vol+ plug in USB cable.
Lawrence of a Labia said:
Out of curiosity, I did a google search to see what the repair options were for a broken power button. Saw that Mobile Tech Videos does it for $35 + shipping. Might be one of the better options at this point. As for the counter, just buy or make a jig to reset it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good info if I ever need this
Has anybody used mobile tech videos to get their power button fixed? Mine stopped working out of the blue today, my phone is long out of warranty, and it refuses to connect to my computer at all so I can't revert to stock (I'm running AOKP 6.27.12 Build right now). I don't want to just send my phone off to some place that isn't reputable.
elementlaxer said:
Has anybody used mobile tech videos to get their power button fixed? Mine stopped working out of the blue today, my phone is long out of warranty, and it refuses to connect to my computer at all so I can't revert to stock (I'm running AOKP 6.27.12 Build right now). I don't want to just send my phone off to some place that isn't reputable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's still got to be in warranty with Samsung. The first units were shipped just under 9 months ago.
Mobile tech videos is considered to be quite reputable. I have only seen good reports about them, and the owner posts actively on the XDA-Developers boards.
You should be able to enter download mode. You don't need the power button for that.
Darn I didn't realize how long Samsung's warranties were. I made the switch back in October from Apple products so I'm used to crappy warranties.
I've already shipped to mobile tech videos because I searched around the forums a bit and found out that he is in fact reputable.
And I know how to get into download mode, I can do that no problem. My computer always pops up saying there is some problem with the device and I'm not sure how to fix it. I have the drivers installed correctly and it has worked in the past, but not recently. I would try to replicate it now but I don't have the phone in my possession, and at the moment it isn't really causing me an issue.
If you can't get Odin to recognize the phone once connected to the computer in download mode, then it is most likely a driver problem, or less likely a problem with the USB cable or ports. Once you get the phone back, if you still have the problem, that is where to look first.
I just wanted to point out that the broken power button would not prevent you from returning the phone to stock, although it can be a bit of a problem that you can't use recovery.
Yeah I was a bit worried that if I tried to go through Odin and something got messed up I wouldn't be able to get back into recovery to restore from a backup.
Thanks for all the help! I feel like a total noob and I appreciate your patience haha
In case you haven't already tried, in some versions of CWM (even non-touch) the search button (softkey) works like enter. Try all of the softkeys, one of them might work for you.
Yes, but if you Odin back to stock with a broken power button, that leaves you with stock 3e recovery. Even if you use adb reboot recovery to get into 3e recovery, you can't select anything without the power button.

[Q] Samsung Galaxy S Vibrant SGH-T959 stuck at PC-exclamationMark-MobilePhone icon

Alright. let us get this straight. I have searched in countless number of forums for solving my issue but I'm NOT able to fix it.
I have a Samsung Galaxy S Vibrant T959. It currently seems to be "soft-bricked" (I always see a mobile connected to a computer and an exclamation icon in between). So to reset it, I have left almost not stone unturned. But no luck so far
As far as I remember, I happened to land it in trouble while I was trying to flash some secondary bootloader using ODIN.
I also tried the micro-USB JIG method by building a 300k-Ohm USB JIG on my own (using three 100k-Ohm resistors), but even that is not working for me. Whenever I connect my phone to my computer, it starts up and shows those three icons. The same happens when I remove the battery, insert it back and start the phone up again. The same happens for each of the numerous key sequences mentioned online for download/recovery mode. So literally NOTHING is working for me. I also tried OneClick.jar, Heimdall. None of them are making me lucky as the phone is not getting detected.
I believe there has to be a way to reset it somehow (although I seem to have screwed something seriously) but nothing seems to work for me. What can I possibly do now?
Attached images show the micro-USB jig that I made and the icon on my phone I see.
From my experience if you can get that far you don't need a jtag. But you did say that you flash bootloader. So you ether need to get the right combo to get to download mode or you are done with out working bootloader. The only other thing that I can think of would be to do the unbrickable mod.
Sent from my Nexus 4
Thanks jrongi1 for the reply.
>> So you ether need to get the right combo to get to download mode or you are done with out working bootloader.
I have tried many, many combos for getting the download mode but no luck so far Can you suggest some if you are aware of one?
The only other thing that I can think of would be to do the unbrickable mod.
>> I tried to know about this but I did not understand what this exactly means? I believe this involves some sort of hardware rework. Can you please point me to steps to do this? Are you referring to this procedure? If yes, I don't believe it's a solution since that procedure is just a preventive measure and not a solution (that's what I understand after reading that whole thing out).
Try that.
reboot computer, turn off phone, take out battery, put the battery back, hold volume up and down buttons and then plug in usb.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using xda app-developers app
This is from N00B_IN_N33D's MIUI guide stickied at the top.
"SOFT" BRICKED WHILE USING ODIN?
If you are getting a "Phone.. ! ..Computer" image (seen above) when booting phone, yes, you are bricked but it is reversible! Just follow these steps...
Make sure you have ODIN OPEN with admin privileges!
1.) Take off your back cover, remove your sim & mirco sd card.
2.) Remove your battery.
Make sure you have the USB plugged into your PC but NOT your phone!
3.) Hold the volume buttons.
4.) Put the battery in.
5.) Put the USB in.
You don't necessarily need the download mode image to be present. As long as you are getting the COM ID to light up yellow in ODIN, just flash back to stock like normal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sometimes the key combo can be a bit precarious and the timing needs to be precise. I know that when I have taken my Vibes back to stock, it takes me more than a few tries to get it right. You've said you have tried the key combos several time, I think you should keep trying them and get your timing right. I would hate for you to screw up your phone when doing the Unbrickable hardware mod, when it could be something as simple as a timing thing.
As the other guys said work with the buttons and only try the unbrickable mod as a last resort.
Sent from my Nexus 4
Thanks guys for responses.
testomat/Woody, I tried as per your steps almost 8-10 times, but that does not work either
jrongi1,
I do not wish to go for Unbrickable mod either. Anyway, I have contacted a local repairs guy for this issue. He said he can fix this issue using JTAG interface. That costs me 1500INR. That's the only solution I have I guess.
Good luck with the repair I hope that you can get going soon.
Sent from my Nexus 4
Thank you so much again!
Woody said:
This is from N00B_IN_N33D's MIUI guide stickied at the top.
Sometimes the key combo can be a bit precarious and the timing needs to be precise. I know that when I have taken my Vibes back to stock, it takes me more than a few tries to get it right. You've said you have tried the key combos several time, I think you should keep trying them and get your timing right. I would hate for you to screw up your phone when doing the Unbrickable hardware mod, when it could be something as simple as a timing thing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This worked for me.....Many thanks

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